[whoistherealmonkey]

Thanks wrxtasy,
my shield has arrived and its awesome.
How can I get free to air TV channels on it? Can I source them over the internet or do I still need my antenna? and another device to watch them through?

Also what is the best place to source kids games?

lastly the best app to watch basketball? and world sports?

[noggin]

Thanks wrxtasy,
my shield has arrived and its awesome.
How can I get free to air TV channels on it? Can I source them over the internet or do I still need my antenna? and another device to watch them through?

Very much depends on the country you are in.

In some countries - UK, Sweden, Denmark, Norway etc. - some broadcasters broadcast their main TV channels (that you'd get via an antenna, cable or satellite) via the internet, via their website and/or provide Android and Android TV apps to let you access these more easily (you can watch BBC services live within their iPlayer app for instance). Similarly some pay-TV providers - like Sky in the UK (with Sky Go and NowTV) offer access to channels you subscribe to via this route.

If you want to receive broadcast content via an antenna/aerial, then you need to do a bit of research as to the best solution for you (in some countries many OTA channels are pay-TV which makes things trickier) You can either use a network tuner (like the HD Homerun series from Silicon Dust) which I believe will integrated with Android / Android TV apps as well as being useable within Kodi if you run a PVR backend like TV Headend (easier implemented separately to the Shield - possibly on something like a Raspberry Pi), or you can use USB tuners with an external PVR backend (again running on something like a Raspberry Pi)

USB tuners are much cheaper and more plentifully available if you are in a DVB-T/T2 territory (Europe, Aus/NZ, large parts of Asia, some bits of South America) than if you are in an ATSC territory (US, Canada, Mexico, Korea) ISDB-T (used in much of South America and Japan) I'm less familiar with.

Also what is the best place to source kids games?

Google Play store?

lastly the best app to watch basketball? and world sports?

Again - it depends where you are. There won't be any discussion in these parts about watching illegally pirated 'Free Sports' streams - but many platform providers (Sky in the UK for instance) will have Android apps that let you watch the channels you subscribe to already, and some major sports providers let you bypass broadcast TV companies directly and subscribe directly with them to watch via their apps (MLB TV for US Baseball for instance?) Some broadcasters now additionally offer 'streaming only' subscriptions that let you watch sport online even if you don't have a subscription to their TV packages.

[whoistherealmonkey]

Hi Noggin,
I'm in Australia.

I'll look at google play thank you.

No i'm not after illegal streaming of basketball, just interested if there is an app that I can get through Kodi or something that I can watch basketball, NBA and college.

Thanks again

[wrxtasy]

Ask over in this specific AUS Whirlpool Shield Sub-forum

[noggin]

Hi Noggin,
I'm in Australia.

I'll look at google play thank you.

No i'm not after illegal streaming of basketball, just interested if there is an app that I can get through Kodi or something that I can watch basketball, NBA and college.

Thanks again

Well I can answer one question for you. You're in a DVB-T region (with no DVB-T2), and your OTA TV (i.e. what you receive through an aerial/antenna) is unencrypted free-to-air I believe (all the main stations anyway)

[nickr]

Hi guys,

can you please recommend. I need a device which supports:

- KODI of course
- HD bitstreaming through HDMI (no Dolby Atmos needed, only DTS-MA and TrueHD streaming)
- No network streaming needed, only want to connect a 2gb external HDD from WD
- 4k NOT needed, only 1080p
- Only need .m2ts, .iso and .mkv playback (no Blu Ray menu support needed)

chromebox (wiki) with libreelec

[woronczak]

Thanks wrxtasy,
my shield has arrived and its awesome.
How can I get free to air TV channels on it? Can I source them over the internet or do I still need my antenna? and another device to watch them through?

Also what is the best place to source kids games?

lastly the best app to watch basketball? and world sports?

Hi there. I am also from Australia.

For free to air, you need something to capture the free to air. I run a Raspberry Pi 3 (Cost about $50 inc sd card) running Libreelec connected to a cheap USB Tuner (Eye TV for PS3 - cost about $10 on ebay) which connects to our antenna and is able to watch/ record up to two different channels at once. I think that Android 7 that the Shield runs actually supports some USB TV Tuners - you would have to look at the specific forums for that. You could also get a HDHomerun, which is a network PVR - they are about AU$200 though. Either of these solutions should enable you to watch live TV on any of your devices.

None of the basketball would be free to watch. For NBA, you need to subscribe to NBA League pass. There is an app on Android TV, but there is an audio lag (and despite it being available on Google Play for Australia, the NBA people say it is not supported to use).You can cast NBA from your phone app to the Shield which works fine, or alternatively, there is an Add-on for Kodi which also works fine with your subscription. I don't get any subscriptions to College, so i can't help you there.

Cheers

[shad]

I'm looking for a "all-in-one" android box, that covers the following needs / wishes:

1. a must-have: Proper DRM support for streaming services like Netflix, DAZN and possibly others
   
2. a must-have: Of course smooth Kodi support for local media playback using a USB-HDD or a NAS
   
3. either built-in DVB-S2 tuner (prefered) or USB tuner for watching Free-to-Air TV + PVR functionality like timeshift, scheduled or instant recordings, EPG etc. using a USB-HDD or a NAS
   
4. I'm not that much into audio in general, but I have a Logitech Z906 Home Theater 5.1 Surround Sound System, which I use sometimes and which is being connected via S/PDIF, I think. So it should be possible to use it with the new device
   
5. a nice-to-have: An "open" enough device, that allows installation of alternative software, in case the original software is buggy / useless. Thinking of Ricardo's ATV ROM for WeTeks or LibreELEC, as example
   
6. a nice-to-have: Dual boot possibility to use two or more different systems
   

So far I think that only WeTek Play 2 meets all this technically, and that's what I've been looking at all the time, but now I would like to check possible alternatives - if not the 1:1 ones, then the closest one by accepting some compromises.

Is WeTek Play 2 really the only device, that offers everything mentioned above or did I miss another one?

Heard about the MECOOL KIII PRO Hybrid box here and there, but it's not being discussed in this thread as far as I've seen, so it probably is considered as

[...]Dirt Cheap, Firmware unsupported, buggy Android Kodi Boxes from China (usually AMLogic).[...]

in the first post of this thread?

In case there isn't another all-in-one box apart from WeTek Play 2, it's about making compromises, I guess...

Starting with the first must-have thing from above (proper DRM support), these are the remaining candidates according to the first post, correct?

Q. I need a Kodi box that can play 1080p or 4K DRM copy protected video streams such as Netflix, HBO etc. ?
NOTE: 2.0 Audio only from DD+ DRM streaming Apps running on Android TV platforms, unless you have a DD+ connected Audio receiver.
1080p/4K Android Netflix is only possible on media players boxes that are Netflix Approved.

• NVIDIA Shield (4K + HDR Netflix / HDR Amazon Video)
  
• Xiaomi Mi Box (4K Netflix)
  
• Amazon Stick/FTV1 + FTV2 (4K) (Amazon Video)
  
• Intel / AMD x86-64 computers with GeForce GT 1030 or later Nvidia graphics card solution running Win10, using either dedicated Apps or a Web Browser.
  
• WeTek's Core (audio is 2.0 only)
  
• WeTek Hub & Play2 (4K Netflix - using Marshmallow Firmware)
  
• Apple TV4
  

---

Following this thread since a while, I remember these comments about NVIDIA Shield:
- One of the fastest devices, resulting in a smooth Android and Kodi usage / performance
- Good software support
- After doing a quick search, I found some comments by users confirming that the DAZN app / service is working fine, which is important for me
- On their website they mention a recently introduced possibility to watch Live-TV either via some paid services or via the integration of USB-Tuners, if I understood it correctly

Is this correct so far?

Regarding the 1. point from my list above: DAZN is sorted. Any problems / limitations with Netflix? Now I also seem to remember the comments, that the shield is a Netflix approved box, meaning the best possible results?
Regarding the 2. point from my list above: aside from the great performance, are there any issues with Kodi on the shield?
Regarding the 3. point from my list above: USB tuners would be probably the way to go, right? Any intel / reviews / limitations / issues on this topic?
Regarding the 4. point from my list above: ??
Regarding the 5. point from my list above: ??
Regarding the 6. point from my list above: ??

Other comments on the shield I saw: "poor quality 1080p > 4K upscaling picture outputs from the NVIDIA Shield". That's probably not that critical, is it? Mostly people say to use the upscaling of the TV anyway... For me it would be something for the future anyway, because my TV is only HD ready, not even 1080p. On the other side I have some SD media still... Does this fact change anything?

---

Can't say anyting about the other 3 candidates in relation to my 6 requirements / wishes. Any of them close?

---

What about often mentioned problems like "Dynamic Refresh switching" or "Auto 1080p/4K resolution switching" etc. for all the candidates including the shield?

[wrxtasy]

Ha Ha the Mythical "all in one box"....everything is STILL a compromise...

Shield Known issues click here & limited OTA/Live TV Streaming & DVR/PVR options.

(1) 1080p/4K Netflix will definitely work on Shield and Play2 with 5.1 DD+ Audio over HDMI.
Unsure about DANZ. If its an Android tablet/touchscreen App. You would definitely need some sort of Air Mouse remote to use it (like the MINIX A2 Lite) and DANZ may not work properly on Android TV only platforms if its a tablet Android only App.
No idea about DANZ on the Play2, maybe read THIS - and even that is outdated due to Play2 running Marshmallow Firmware.


(2) Yes on Shield and Play2 - but smooth playback on the Play2 only if you use @ricardo's ROM / MM patches or LibreELEC Kodi Krypton.
LibreELEC Kodi Krypton is superior vs any Android Kodi on any platform.


(3) Be aware of these:

PVR use - single TV tuners will only allow you to watch and record at the same time from the same MUX (ie grouping of same specific TV Network channels).
Dual independent TV Tuner's allow simultaneous watching and Dual recording from any TV channels without many limitations.

You are not going to be able to schedule / record / playback TV unless you are using some sort of TV server software like TvHeadend.

You will have to use custom Firmware on the Shield for PVR use if directly attaching a USB Tuner. Better make sure you get a compatible tuner as well and do you own research over on the NVIDIA Shield forums. Its very much DIY. Stay away from buggy as hell Plex DVR. Most TV Tuner support on Shield is USA only.

WeTek Play2 - you simply flash alternate Firmware from the easy to boot into Android Recovery and then Webpage configure TvHeadend to use the inbuilt Single TV Tuner. SPMC/TvH - Viewing , Scheduling, recording, TimeShifting then works with an attached USB HDD (NTFS formatted).

Also be aware you cannot use Android Kodi Krypton and the TvHeadend PVR viewing client on any Android hardware platform - it's broken - you have to use SPMC (Kodi Jarvis) on the Play2 or Android TV - Live Channels and the TvH App or splash out on HDHomerun Hardware & its Apps.

Play2 + LibreELEC Kodi Krypton & TV/PVR's - no limitations at all - except previously mentioned Single TV Tuner.


(4) You are not going to get 5.1 DD Netflix/Amazon Audio (& other DD+ DRM streaming apps) out of the NVIDIA Shield, because it is NOT Dolby Audio licensed and can only passthrough DD+ Audio to a DD+ capable - HDMI connected Audio receiver. The Shield has no SPDIF output built in.

The WeTek Play2 using any of @ricardos's Firmware ROM/patches can give you 5.1 DD Netflix to a DD only HDMI Audio receiver. I doubt you will get 5.1 Netflix over SPDIF after re-reading this Thread


(5) & (6) yes that is exactly what the WeTek Play2 is designed for. TV Tuner, Dual Boot, easily install Alternate ROM's / Firmware with proper DRM, HDCP 2.2 and Netflix Approvals. Pick which OS suits - you can easily choose what you want.

You need to buy a Wireless remote like the MINIX A2 Lite if using tablet/touchscreen Apps on any Android platform.

No Auto 1080p/4K Resolution switching on ANY Android platform (excluding FireTV2). LibreELEC Kodi Krypton has no problems.
Kodi Krypton dynamic refresh switching works properly on the Shield and Play2 (@ricardo's ROM & MM patches only)

---

What do i use ?

Gigabit Ethernet - AMLogic S905 ODROID C2 box running LibreELEC Kodi Krypton + TvHeadend Server + dirt cheap PS3 PlayTV Dual DVB-T tuner & NTFS 3.5" 1GB HDD.
Gets me (non HDR) Kodi Krypton without many compromises at all - especially for Krypton TvHeadend PVR use and Krypton legacy video decoding of older video compression formats.

Excellent - Advanced Motion Adaptive - hardware (TV) deinterlacing on AMLogic S8xx/S9xx platforms, when using AMCodec decoder.

Then an additional Play2 with @ricardo's (Marshmallow) ATV ROM for 5.1 4K Netflix, Stan, Spotify etc - Android TV Apps + some light - TvH playing around with Android TV Live Channels + dual booting to LibreELEC Kodi Krypton.
SPMC 16.7.x (Kodi Jarvis) can use either inbuilt TV Tuner or (Gigabit) networked ODROID C2 - TvHeadend Server.

2nd old Dumb TV has a Xiaomi Mi Box for ATV Apps video streaming + casual (non sport) Live Channels TvH Viewing - due to only half motion, poorer quality TV deinterlacing with this box.

Favourite Wireless remote - MINIX A2 Lite, followed by a tie with Mi Box or OSMC Wireless remotes.

[shad]

Thank you, wrxtasy! It's very impressive how you always response with details, depth, quite clear statements and alot of patience - hats off!

Yes, I can imagine that a "all-in-one" box is quite a myth. Well, at least a perfect one.

However, Wetek Play seems to come quite close to it - sadly with no comparable alternatives, as it looks...

I don't have any problems with some DIY, but it sounds like too much of it for the Shield + missing SPDIF output, so all together not an option for me then.

Could you tell me, what's wrong with the MECOOL KIII PRO Hybrid box? At least technically it seems to be similar to Wetek Play 2.
[edit]OK, just realised it's a Amlogic S912 box, which is a no-go currently, from what I've read, so probably that's why it's not here on the forum[/edit]

Play 2 catched my eye once I read about it for the first time because of the versatility, but I'm quite undecided now
- Rather disappointed with the praised support, user treatment in some cases and of course software quality by Wetek
- Not sure if it's worth it to wait for the Play 2S. That was my plan, since some features announced one year ago did sound quite nice, but the waiting is ongoing for one year now and they don't even say what differences there will be
- Uncertainty about the DAZN app. The post on nachtfalke-forum you linked, is mine One year ago there was only a comment, that it works on the Wetek CORE, but the picture quality was rather bad. The chances are probably good, that it would work on Play 2 MM software and/or Ricardo's ROM, because of the CORE comment and because the DAZN app is available for many devices, Android TV and regular Android among them
- Often critized remote of the Play 2. Would the remote that you suggested (MINIX A2 Lite) be only needed when sticking with Wetek's original software? I.e. would the original remote would be fine for Ricardo's ROM and LibreELEC?

[rondog9]

Hi Wrxtasy and others.
Very new to kodi etc. I just need a box to run kodi only either using libreelec or openelec doesn't matter.. I have got an Apple TV4 for everything else.. Using a Yamaha receiver.. What is the best and cheapest option I have got on hand? Would or does xiaomi mi box support libreelec or openelec? Or what is my other best and cheap option?
Thank you for your help..

[wrxtasy]

Gday,

Mi Box has a locked down bootloader - secured with SELinux. So no Dual boot LibreELEC even possible. Mi Box also does not do Kodi dynamic refresh rate switching for ultra smooth video playback.

Lots of recommendations in this...

AMLogic S905(x) - LibreELEC / OSMC - Kodi Krypton - 4K Options

And further cheap LibreELEC options have all been discussed in this:

Budget AMLogic S905/S905X/S912 Media Player Options

Congrats on actually not trying to do everything with the one device. ATV4 & S905(x) LibreELEC will make a good combo

[rondog9]

Thanks wrxtasy.
Yeah I didn't want to do everything with 1 box just doesn't make sense to me..
Just the last thing is Raspberry Pi3 going to do the job well considering it only has 1gb ram? Also with the 1gb ram on it how futureproof is it with running on libreelec on it.. I know newer libreelec/ kodi would require extra ram? Can you upgrade the ram on raspberry Pi 3 in the future? Or what is the option that I have?

Thank you and sorry for the confusing questions.. The posts doesn't answer these questions so
I am asking here..

[marko-mb]

More I search more confused I am

All I need is a decent TV Box that would work with some requirements. ( just wanted to get himedia q10 pro or minix u9 (both just found on 1h search so I have no idea if good or not) - and there are many many more on market and I dont want to buy one and realising that something I need doesnt work)

What I want:
- kodi, and option to install google play apps (I will use a TV stream app from out CABLE supplier that requires unrooted system. app: "D3GO")
- android, stable system and stable playback without freezing etc...
- 1080 HD
- digital audio output for my receiver (probably spdif coax (only free left )
- option to power on and off with IR command (harmony remote) with only one command ! not through menus etc....
- LAN - to stream mkv files x265 and x264 from my NAS
- airmouse and keyb for some youtube and extra apps
- not a must but would be cool: a controler option or option to use smartphone to play and control some games for kids)

thanks!

(At the time writing this I am using lenovo q180 .. now installed openelec because I had more and more problems with windows in 2 years of use, now openelec keeps freezing. movies showing titles that are no longer on disk, sometimer IR power on and off works sometimes not, so it is time to get rid of it!)

[etrin]

I just ordered an ODROID C2 after reading all the comments here.
I wanted to ask one thing about the LibreELEC Jarvis for the 2160p 10bit HEVC AMLogic S905 ODROID C2
All I am hearing is VPN you have to have VPN on your kodi box.
Does this support the vpn built into kodi ?
I also have a pureVPN account and found out I can put it on 5 devices...will it work on the ODROID with this os?